


The Gift

by pravenclaw



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-24 03:01:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17092817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pravenclaw/pseuds/pravenclaw
Summary: Written for Bertie.It was time. #ScoroseIsLyfe #SaltyForAstoriaCursed Child compliant.





	The Gift

The snow fell in mid-December that year. The castle was enveloped overnight, and it only got worse as Christmas neared. All the fires had been lit in the classrooms, which thankfully kept the draughts and frost at bay. Flying lessons had been cancelled after a third-year student had fallen from her broom after getting caught in an icy gust, meaning the students only had to venture outdoors for Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures. Otherwise the grounds were out of bounds for the time being.

Professor McGonagall, a rather severe-looking woman, had arranged a Christmas Ball as a ‘special treat’ for the staff and elder students. If it was a success, she would carry on the tradition, or so she said. Everyone was looking forward to it.

Now that he was a fifth-year, Scorpius Malfoy found he had so much to revise for. Fifth-year was O.W.L. year and every teacher seemed hellbent on giving them a mountain of homework each day. The common room was occupied most hours of the day by tetchy seventh-years studying for their N.E.W.T.s. It was only the end of the first term, and they were already looking rather dishevelled and in much need of sleep. He and Albus found it better to stay well clear, and so they’d go off seeking the quiet corners of the castle in order to get work done.

That day, however, Albus found himself in remedial Transfiguration, and so Scorpius was alone.

He was sitting down with a large book open on his lap, his back facing out into the cloister courtyard. His scarf was wrapped tightly around his neck and a pair of discarded gloves lay at his feet, as he found them distracting whenever he picked up his quill. Scorpius’s nose, ears and fingertips were red with cold. But it was peaceful.

‘There you are,’ said Rose suddenly. Her voice bounced and echoed around the cloisters. Scorpius had been so engrossed in his Ancient Runes homework that he hadn’t even heard her approach on the cracked stone slabs.

‘Oh, hello, Rose!’ he said excitedly. ‘Just the person. Have you had a chance to look at Professor Gabbler’s homework yet? I can’t work out if the first line starts with _ehwaz_ or _mannaz_? My gut says it’s a hex, but you never know with the ancient wizards, do you? Have you looked at it yet?’

‘It’s _mannaz_ ,’ she said sweetly. Scorpius smiled and thanked her.

Rose went in her bag and took out a clear jar she often carried potions ingredients in. She pointed her wand at the jar and a second later a handful of bright blue flames had sprung up inside, cradled by the surrounding glass. Rose placed it beside Scorpius, who instantly gravitated towards the warmth.

‘I need to learn that one,’ laughed Scorpius. He wrapped his hands around the jar, wincing slightly from the pain caused by the sudden heat.

‘My mum taught me that one. Maybe I could teach you one day.’

‘I’d like that,’ he said. There was a trace of something in his voice, a quiver of desire, as if Scorpius would never like anything more than for Rose to teach him her mother’s clever little trick. His insides lurched suddenly, as if they were struggling to keep his breakfast down.

‘Anyway. I have a present for you,’ she said, and Scorpius instantly composed himself, his insides abating ever so slightly.

‘For me?’

He had a look of complete bewilderment on his face. His insides clenched again. Rose smiled nervously and nodded.

‘I’ve been waiting for the right moment,’ she said, ‘and what with the Christmas Ball tomorrow night and the holidays starting the day after… well, it’s now or never.’

Rose sat down next to Scorpius, so only the blue flamed jar lay between them. She took out a small box wrapped in brown paper and tied with green ribbon from her bag. She turned to Scorpius tentatively and drew a deep breath.

‘Happy Christmas, Scorpius,’ she said and handed it to him.

‘But I don’t have anything for you,’ he said. ‘If I’d known you were getting me something, I’d – ’

‘Just open it!’ Rose said impatiently.

Scorpius paused and shot a bemused look Rose, who seemed somewhat tentative. He began to unwrap the present, carefully at first, but resorted to tearing off the paper after some encouragement from Rose.

Inside was a white book with a large, overly embellished “A” in gold-leaf on the front cover. The pages were thick, their edges sprayed with shiny gold. It looked incredibly expensive. Scorpius’s mouth fell out as he opened the cover page. In clear black ink, it read:

_Astoria Greengrass Malfoy, 1981 – 2019_

The first page was entirely taken up by a large photograph of Astoria, Scorpius’s mother, obviously taken a few years before he’d been born. She was wearing a long, elegant wedding dress, laughing merrily at someone out of shot. Her dark hair was styled nearly, and a thin glittering tiara was placed on her head. She looked beautiful.

Scorpius said nothing, he hadn’t quite picked his jaw up, but he carried on flicking through the pages.

The following photograph was another from the wedding, this time of both his parents. His father, Draco, looked handsome in his dark dress robes. His hair was shorter then. The pain of previous years had been erased on that one day, Draco had told Scorpius not too long ago. That was the day that Draco Malfoy’s life began anew.

There was a photograph of his mother sitting in his favourite armchair in the Slytherin common room, another of her laughing with a group of friends, some of whom Scorpius recognised from her funeral. He flipped a page and there was his mother as a little girl in a garden somewhere. She was dressed all in yellow, his Aunt Daphne by her side, in green, holding hands and giggling, their parents behind looking earnest and proud.

There was another of Astoria under the tree by the lake, where many a Hogwarts student had sheltered from the summer heat. She looked weary and pale. She glanced up at the camera and smiled, a smile Scorpius had seen often enough. It was a pained smile and not entirely genuine, the type which can only be pulled off by someone who has practised a lot.

Scorpius closed the book gently and closed his eyes, for fear his tears would fall and spoil the pages, ruining the photographs and blotting the ink in the captions beneath them. He said nothing, but turned to face Rose, who was biting anxiously at her lip.

‘Do you like it? Please tell me you like it,’ she said in a low voice.

Still Scorpius said nothing. He was shaking slightly, his fingers trembling as he gripped onto the album as if for dear life. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words could form in his throat or mouth. He croaked, coughed and cleared his throat, but still no words would come.

‘Albus told me you had a photo of her by your bedside,’ said Rose. ‘It was the only one he’s ever seen. It gave me the idea, so I thought –’

‘– Where did you get them all?’ said Scorpius finally. He wiped his eyes with the sleeves of his robes.

‘I wrote to your dad,’ she said. ‘He was reluctant at first but after a while he gave in. I’ve been making this for months.’

Rose took the photograph album from Scorpius’s lap and flicked it open to a page, and then another, and then another.

‘I got this one here from an old friend of your mum’s, your dad said she might have something … and this one I got from your Aunt Daphne. I wrote to her a while ago, and when she didn’t reply I had my mum have a word with her. You know she works in the Department of International Magical Cooperation? And _this_ one, I got from my Aunt Ginny. She and your mum knew each other at school, apparently.’

Scorpius looked between Rose and the album, back and forward, again and again.

‘It’s her birthday soon,’ said Scorpius. ‘She didn’t mind it being so close to Christmas, she loved it. I always feel it this time of year.’

Rose placed her hand on top of Scorpius’s and squeezed it gently.

‘Do you like it, Scorpius,’ said Rose in a quiet voice.

‘I love it,’ beamed Scorpius, wiping away the last of his tears. Rose smiled back at him. ‘I’ll treasure this forever,’ he said. ‘But I – I don’t h-how you did this? I haven’t even seen most of these before! I’m touched, I won’t lie. I – I really don’t know what to say. This is the – this is the nicest thing – I could hug you.’

‘You can if you like,’ said Rose, still grinning. Scorpius looked at her, as if in a daze, and practically jumped at her. They hugged awkwardly around the jar of blue flames. The warmth radiating from it seemed to set the world ablaze for a second, a single moment. And then they untangled themselves and were separate beings once more.

‘Thank you for this, Rose, truly.’

‘You’ll need to thank Albus when you see him. He helped too. I wanted to give you it before the Ball tomorrow,’ she said. ‘And the holidays start the day after that.’

‘Speaking of… Albus told me you’re going to the Ball with Karl,’ said Scorpius quietly.

‘I’m not,’ Rose said quickly. ‘He asked, but I said no. I told him I was awfully flattered and everything, but … no.’

Scorpius swallowed and grinned. His heart was hammering in his chest, he was sure Rose would be able to hear it.

‘You’ll never guess who asked me to the Ball this morning,’ simpered Scorpius as he puffed out his chest proudly.

‘I bet it was Lily,’ Rose said at once.

‘ _Lily?_ ’

‘She’s been going on about you ever since your little adventure with Albus last year. Didn’t you know?’

‘No, it wasn’t Lily,’ he replied. His expression was one of complete bemusement, as if he was somehow struggling to comprehend what Rose had just told him.

‘Well be careful,’ said Rose, ‘she’s besotted with you. If not Lily, then who?’

Scorpius smirked again.

‘It was the ever-delightful Miss Polly Chapman. Pretty Polly Chapman. You know that’s the second time she’s asked me to go with her to a Ball? Shame she can’t remember the fir–’

‘Polly?’

Scorpius had never seen Rose look so disgusted.

‘Yeah, right after breakfast this morning. You should’ve seen Albus’s face! You know, I don’t think she’s ever spoken two civil words to me before now. I thought she was yanking my wand, but apparently not,’ Scorpius bragged, a proud little smirk etched on his face.

‘You’re joking,’ said Rose. ‘Polly Chapman asked you out?’

‘Yes, Rose, haven’t you been listening? I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it,’ he laughed. ‘Albus wouldn’t stop going on about it either. All through Defence Against the Dark Arts. Fancy that…’

Rose scoffed loudly. She muttered something under her breath which sounded a bit like ‘Oh really.’

‘What’s wrong?’ said Scorpius. ‘I–’

‘It’s nothing. I’m fine,’ she said darkly.

‘Rose?’

‘I’m fine!’ she shouted. ‘I just thought … Well, never mind. It doesn’t matter now,’ she said miserably.

Scorpius opened his mouth to speak, but, thinking better of it, closed it again and sat quietly for a while. Rose was breathing very heavily. Frowning did not suit her face, Scorpius thought to himself.

‘Are you angry with me?’ Scorpius said softly after a long silence. Rose took a while to answer.

‘I’m not angry,’ she said sadly. ‘It’s just, I’ve realised that I’m too late. But it’s fine, I’m alright,’ she said brusquely.

Before Scorpius could say anything more, Rose jumped to her feet and extinguished the magical blue flames and stuffed the jar back in her bag.

‘Anyway, I better be going now. I still have some packing to do before dinner tonight. See you, Scorpius. Happy Christmas.’

‘Rose, wait,’ said Scorpius, who was already rising to his feet. ‘I going to tell you – ’

Just then, Professor Flitwick emerged from an adjoining corridor, humming a Christmas carol. He was weighed down by the pyramid of old scrolls he was carrying. They were yellow with age and he could scarcely see over the top of them.

Professor Flitwick hadn’t noticed them, it seemed. As he turned the corner, he slipped on a short stretch of ice. He let out a tiny scream and fell backwards, like a domino, his hair a whir of white, his papers strewn across the cloister flagstones.

Scorpius and Rose ran to him at once and pulled him back up onto his feet. He was mumbling something inaudible under his breath.

‘Are you all right, Professor?’ asked Scorpius, as Rose went about collecting up the scrolls.

‘Quite all right, quite all right,’ squeaked Professor Flitwick. ‘Thank you both,’ he said with a cheery smile, ‘I’m not as young as I once was.’

‘Would you like a hand, Professor?’ asked Rose. Professor Flitwick shook his head and took out his wand. With a simple swish the papers leapt out of Rose’s arms and began floating lazily around the corner and out of sight.

‘You’ll be pleased to know that you both received full marks in the last test of the term. You’re both well on track for Outstandings in your Charms O.W.L.,’ said Flitwick. ‘I only wish the same could be said for young Mr Potter,’ he sighed. ‘If only he would concentrate on something other than the doodles in his textbook!’ Professor Flitwick bowed his head and bade them a happy Christmas, and off he went.

A moment passed before Scorpius and Rose realised how close they were now, side by side, without a glass jar to separate them. Rose broke away from him at once.

‘Don’t go,’ said Scorpius, in little more than a whisper.

Rose looked up into his pale, pointed face, her lips trembling slightly. Her eyes found his. The deep black met the icy grey and they got lost in each other.

‘I said no,’ he said, as if speaking directly into Rose’s eyes. Her eyes were striking, Scorpius thought to himself. He had always thought so. They had been the first things he’d noticed about her.

‘I said no,’ Scorpius repeated, ‘to Polly, I mean. I said I was _awfully flattered and everything_ , but I wouldn’t be able to accept.’ Scorpius flashed her a cheeky grin.

‘Don’t make fun of me,’ Rose scolded, causing Scorpius’s smile to immediately falter. Rose crossed her arms and pursed her lips. ‘Why couldn’t you accept? What did you say exactly?’

Scorpius shuffled awkwardly on his feet. ‘I told her,’ he began again, ‘that I was – er – that I was hoping to go with someone else. In fact, I told her I was hoping to ask that person later today, if I plucked up the courage first.’

‘And who were you going to ask?’ Rose said blankly.

‘Are you – are you joking? I really don’t know if you’re being serious. You’re not, are you?’

Rose said nothing. She straightened her robes and started rocking on her feet, suddenly looking very amused about something.

‘Sorry, I’m really bad at this sort of thing. You, of course! I meant you, Rose! I was going to ask – you. I’ve never looked at Polly twice – how could I? It’s always been you,’ said Scorpius, who suddenly found himself mumbling.

‘Are you asking me out, Scorpion King?’ said Rose, now grinning.

‘Yes. I – well – er – yes, I suppose I am,’ he said.

‘Hadn’t you better do it properly?’

‘I probably should, yes. Trouble is, I don’t really know what to say.’

‘Need I remind you that you’ve already before? What’s different now?’

‘This is nothing like that time! The first time I was all excited and bouncy and _dreadless_ ,’ Scorpius said contritely. ‘This time is completely different. This time I’m really, really nervous.’

‘Just ask me!’ said Rose.

Scorpius nodded and took a deep breath, placing his arms behind his back. The regret was instant. He felt silly, and quickly tried to readjust his stance and posture. He forced his body to stand as normal as possible – no – as _cool_ as possible. It seemed like an enormous amount of effort, and in fact his back rather hurt even attempting it. Something was still off. His feet were a little too close together. His arms suddenly felt unnaturally long, and Scorpius didn’t quite know what to do with them. His mind raced. He hoped his hair looked nice and prayed he didn’t still have jam on his chin from this morning’s breakfast.

But it was too late for all that.

‘Rose Granger-Weasley,’ he said, ‘would you –’

‘ – Would you like to come to the Ball with me, Scorpius?’ proclaimed Rose.

‘ – like to come to the Ball with me?’

It took Scorpius a moment to register what Rose had just said. He laughed and jumped back in faux frustration.

‘Rose! You told me to ask you properly!’

‘You can’t expect me to wait around all day, Scorpius!’ she teased. ‘You didn’t give me an answer, by the way.’

‘Nor did you,’ said Scorpius.

‘Together?’

‘On the count of three. One… two… three.’

‘Yes.’

*

‘I’m dreading telling Albus,’ said Scorpius. ‘I can’t stand his boasting when he’s feeling righteous.’

‘I’m just dreading James finding out,’ said Rose. ‘When he’s stopped being silly, he’ll immediately owl my dad and my whole family will know before the day is out.’

‘Are you worried about what they’ll think? You going out with a dark and dangerous Malfoy?’

‘Definitely not,’ she said assuredly. ‘I’m not sure they care about that sort of thing, not anymore. But they’ll all be on to Grandma Weasley to knit you a Christmas jumper, and I don’t think I could cope with that.’

‘I wouldn’t mind one, actually,’ said Scorpius, his eyes lighting up. ‘Do you think she’d mind?’

Rose rolled her eyes and linked her arm through Scorpius’s.

‘I didn’t think the Scorpion King would like knitted jumpers,’ she said.

‘Oh no, he most definitely does,’ said Scorpius.

**Author's Note:**

> This was partly inspired by In The Heights, because I am absolute trash.


End file.
